How a small jewelry company turned $40 into $1.2M

Shopify

13 Jan 202206:35

Summary

TLDRLiv Portillo's jewelry brand, DBL, transformed a $40 investment into a $1.2 million annual revenue in three years, leveraging organic social media strategies. The key to her success were four specific Instagram and TikTok posts that turned her side hustle into a seven-figure business. The video explores why these posts worked, offering insights into how to grow a business using social media, the importance of custom products, and the power of storytelling in content creation.

Takeaways

💎 Liv Portillo turned a $40 investment into a $1.2 million annual revenue business in three years without using paid ads.
📸 The initial growth of DBL Jewelry was driven by organic social media posts, particularly photos of customers wearing custom name necklaces.
🔨 Liv's custom, handmade jewelry became share-worthy, leading to organic user-generated content that boosted sales.
🛍️ Liv started her business by borrowing money from her parents to buy supplies for making jewelry at home.
🌐 The pandemic led to a shift in Liv's strategy, where she used TikTok to grow her business significantly.
🦋 A TikTok video showing the process of making a custom name necklace with a butterfly design went viral, gaining millions of views and followers.
🛠️ Liv shared behind-the-scenes content of her making jewelry, which resonated with customers interested in the process and the brand's story.
📦 She also shared how she ships her orders, openly discussing the tools and platforms she uses, which attracted an audience interested in entrepreneurship.
🔥 A controversial TikTok video about a custom order for a necklace with names of girls a man cheated with went viral, demonstrating the power of storytelling in social media content.
🏆 Liv's entrepreneurial success led to her being named one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 youngest millionaires.
🚀 Liv launched 'Bosology' and 'Livexy' to educate and mentor aspiring entrepreneurs on free and organic social media marketing tactics.

Q & A

What was the initial investment for DBL Jewelry?
-The initial investment for DBL Jewelry was $40.
How much annual revenue did DBL Jewelry achieve in three years?
-DBL Jewelry achieved an annual revenue of 1.2 million dollars in three years.
Did DBL Jewelry use any paid ads for its growth?
-No, DBL Jewelry did not use any paid ads; it grew through organic social media posts.
What was the role of Liv Portillo in the growth of DBL Jewelry?
-Liv Portillo is the founder of DBL Jewelry and grew the business to a seven-figure business through organic social media posts.
What type of product did Liv choose to sell, and how did it contribute to her social media success?
-Liv chose to sell custom name necklaces, which became popular due to their custom and handmade nature, encouraging organic user-generated content and shareability.
How did the custom nature of DBL Jewelry's products impact its growth?
-The custom nature of the products encouraged customers to share their purchases, making the brand share-worthy and driving organic growth.
What was the significance of the TikTok video with 5.7 million views in Liv's success story?
-The TikTok video with 5.7 million views was significant because it was the first time Liv showed her customers how she made her jewelry, which attracted a large audience and increased sales.
What was the main content of the third key social media post that helped Liv scale her business?
-The third key post showed Liv explaining how she ships her orders using a platform called Pirate Ship, providing transparency about her business operations.
Why did Liv's transparency about her business operations help her grow her TikTok account?
-Liv's transparency attracted followers interested in entrepreneurship, providing social proof and a new source of customers for her business.
What was the content of Liv's best-performing TikTok video, and why was it successful?
-The video showed Liv making a custom necklace with controversial content, which attracted 18.2 million views due to the story attached to the custom order and the controversy it sparked in the comments.
What additional business did Liv launch for aspiring entrepreneurs who followed her on TikTok?
-Liv launched Bosology, a series of educational videos, and announced a new mentoring class called Livexy to teach students free and organic social media marketing tactics.
How was Liv recognized for her entrepreneurial success in 2021?
-In 2021, Forbes named Liv Portillo one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 youngest millionaires for her success in building DBL Jewelry from the ground up.

Outlines

00:00

💎 Organic Growth of a Jewelry Brand

This paragraph details the remarkable growth of a small jewelry brand, DBL Jewelry, which transformed a $40 initial investment into a $1.2 million annual revenue in just three years. The founder, Liv Portillo, achieved this without any paid advertising, relying solely on organic social media posts. The video will dissect four key Instagram and TikTok posts that significantly contributed to the brand's success. Liv started by borrowing money from her parents to buy supplies for making jewelry at home. Her custom name necklaces became popular on Snapchat, leading to increased demand. The first post that helped the brand grow was a photo of a customer wearing their custom necklace, which encouraged sharing and made the brand share-worthy. Liv's strategy focused on organic user-generated content, which led to increased sales.

05:02

🚀 Leveraging Social Media for Business Expansion

The second paragraph discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Liv's business, which led her to download and use TikTok during quarantine. A particular TikTok video showcasing how she made a custom name necklace with a butterfly design garnered 5.7 million views, propelling her to one million followers overnight. This video was significant because it was the first time Liv revealed her creative process, which resonated with customers who were eager to see the behind-the-scenes of a brand. This 'process as content' approach led to a surge in sales. Liv also shared a video explaining her shipping process, which was surprisingly beneficial as it provided transparency and attracted followers interested in entrepreneurship. This authenticity and willingness to share business insights helped her grow her audience and, consequently, her business.

📈 Viral Marketing and Entrepreneurial Success

The final paragraph highlights the fourth and most successful social media post by Liv, a controversial TikTok video with 18.2 million views, where she created a custom necklace listing the names of girls a man had cheated on. The video's success lies in its storytelling aspect, showing that custom products with a narrative make for compelling social media content. Liv's adeptness at creating a social media following and developing products for that audience led to the launch of Bosology, a series of educational videos for aspiring entrepreneurs. Liv's success was recognized by Forbes, who named her one of the '30 Under 30' youngest millionaires in 2021. The paragraph concludes with an encouragement for aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own business, with a reference to Shopify for a 14-day trial.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Jewelry Brand

A jewelry brand refers to a company or business that designs, manufactures, and sells jewelry items. In the video's context, the jewelry brand in question is 'DBL Jewelry,' which started as a small venture and grew into a multi-million dollar business without the use of paid advertising.

💡Annual Revenue

Annual revenue is the total income generated by a business over a year. The video highlights that DBL Jewelry achieved an annual revenue of 1.2 million dollars within three years, showcasing the success of its business model.

💡Organic Social Media Post

An organic social media post is a non-paid post that gains visibility and engagement through the platform's algorithm and user interactions. The video emphasizes that DBL Jewelry's growth was fueled by such posts, particularly on Instagram and TikTok, which helped the brand gain significant traction.

💡User Generated Content

User generated content (UGC) is any form of content, such as videos, photos, or text, that is created by users rather than the brand itself. In the video, it's mentioned that the custom nature of DBL Jewelry's products encouraged UGC, which contributed to the brand's popularity and sales.

💡Custom Name Necklaces

Custom name necklaces are personalized jewelry pieces with the customer's name on them. The video script describes how these necklaces were the initial product that sparked interest among Liv's friends on Snapchat, leading to the first sales for DBL Jewelry.

💡Mass Produce

Mass production refers to the process of producing large quantities of goods efficiently. The video points out that custom handmade jewelry, like DBL Jewelry's products, is typically not mass-produced due to its personalized nature, which presents a challenge for scaling the business.

💡TikTok

TikTok is a social media platform known for its short-form videos. The video script mentions that Liv used TikTok to show the process of making her jewelry, which helped her gain a significant following and increased sales, illustrating the power of the platform for business growth.

💡Process as Content

Process as content refers to the idea of sharing the behind-the-scenes process of creating a product as part of the content strategy. The video explains that by showing how her jewelry is made, Liv turned the production process into engaging content that resonated with her audience on TikTok.

💡Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching, and running a new business. The video discusses how Liv's transparency about her business operations attracted followers interested in entrepreneurship, which in turn became a new customer base for her.

💡Social Proof

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others under the assumption that those actions are reflective of correct behavior. In the video, the growing TikTok following of Liv serves as social proof, attracting more customers to DBL Jewelry.

💡Controversial Content

Controversial content refers to material that is likely to cause disagreement or debate. The video script describes a TikTok post involving a custom order with a controversial story that went viral, demonstrating how such content can drive engagement and visibility for a brand.

💡Forbes 30 Under 30

Forbes 30 Under 30 is an annual list by Forbes magazine that recognizes the most influential young entrepreneurs, leaders, and stars in various industries. The video mentions that Liv Portillo was named to this list in recognition of her success in building DBL Jewelry.

Highlights

A small jewelry brand turned a $40 investment into $1.2 million in annual revenue in just three years without any paid ads.

Founder Liv Portillo grew DBL Jewelry to a seven-figure business through organic social media posts.

Four specific Instagram and TikTok posts are identified as catalysts for the brand's growth.

Liv started DBL Jewelry by borrowing $40 from her parents to buy supplies for making jewelry at home.

Custom name necklaces were particularly popular among Liv's friends on Snapchat, leading to initial sales.

The custom nature of the products encouraged organic user-generated content, boosting sales.

Liv grew her business via Instagram and eventually opened her own online store with Shopify.

The pandemic led to a shift in strategy, with Liv downloading TikTok during quarantine.

A TikTok video showing the process of making a name necklace with a butterfly design went viral with 5.7 million views.

Showing the making process of custom products on TikTok was a counter-intuitive strategy that attracted customers.

Liv shared videos of making name necklaces, which increased sales significantly.

A TikTok video detailing how Liv ships her orders and uses Pirate Ship for discounts gained popularity.

Liv's transparency about her business tools and strategies attracted followers interested in entrepreneurship.

A controversial TikTok video about a custom order for a necklace listing the names of a cheater's partners went viral with 18.2 million views.

Custom products with attached stories make for great social media content, as seen with the viral video.

Liv launched 'Bosology', a series of educational videos for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Liv announced a new mentoring class called 'Livexy' to teach free and organic social media marketing tactics.

Liv Portillo was named one of Forbes' 30 under 30 youngest millionaires due to her entrepreneurial success.

The video encourages potential entrepreneurs to start their own business with a 14-day trial on Shopify.